


There is Nary a Doubt

by roswyrm



Category: Original Work
Genre: College, Friends to Lovers, Multi, Sign Language, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-02
Updated: 2019-02-02
Packaged: 2019-10-21 03:21:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,150
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17635082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roswyrm/pseuds/roswyrm
Summary: “So.” Red looks up from his sandwich. “If I were to choke you to death-”





	There is Nary a Doubt

“So.” Red looks up from his sandwich. “If I were to choke you to death-” 

The other person straightens and points an accusatory finger at the one who spoke. “You shut the fuck up.” 

The first one smirks. “I’m just trying to clear something up, Brooks, chill. But if I did-“ 

Brooks stabs their spoon into the school lunch and retorts, “If I was to scalp you-” 

The first one snarls. “Oh, get _fucked,_ Brooks. Get fucked _very much.”_ Brooks flips the other off and goes back to eating. 

Red goes back to his sandwich.  
///  
“Yo! Red!” Red looks up. The one who isn’t Brooks is smiling. “On a scale of one to ten, how much would you like to fuck my friend here?” 

Brooks slaps the first one square across the face. “Shut the hell up, Pandeth.” Pandeth sticks out their tongue, hand covering the red mark that’s sure to form eventually. That was a hard slap. 

Red coughs and tries to find where they stopped on their homework.  
///  
“Hey, do you mind if I ask what your name is?”

Red blinks up at Brooks. “Red.” 

Brooks winces apologetically. “I, uh. I don’t know sign language.” Red shrugs. “Can I just read your name on your paper?” Red shakes her head- her legal name isn’t her actual name. Brooks blinks. “Wait. Can you hear?” Red nods. She’s mute, not deaf. Brooks nods and extends their hand. “Well, I’m Rosario. My friends call me Brooks. Nice to meet you.” 

Red grins, and repeats “Nice to meet you.” 

Brooks has a moment of confusion, before lighting up and asking, “Did that mean ‘nice to meet you’?” Red laughs and nods. Brooks looks extremely proud of themself.  
///  
“Hey, Red.” Red looks at Pandeth. “You speak BSL?” 

Red shakes his head. “ASL.” 

Pandeth curses. “Well, guess we’ll have to teach each other then, huh?” Red blinks, tilts his head. Pandeth grins. “My name is Daman Pandeth. Call me Pandeth.” Their hand is- presumably -echoing their spoken words in BSL. They grin. “Can you say that in ASL?” 

Red goes wide-eyed. That’s… actually a pretty smart way of doing things. Red repeats it. Pandeth nods.   
///  
“Do you mind that I call you Red?” 

Red snorts. “My name _is_ Red.” They sign. Pandeth looks confused. 

“Uh. I understood ‘My name is’ but I can’t tell what you said your name was.” Red grabs a couple strands of his hair and shakes his fingers. Pandeth raises their eyebrows. “Hair?” 

“No.” 

A pause. 

_“Red?”_ Red giggles as they nod. Pandeth giggles too.  
///  
“Brooks, that’s a very rude thing to say.” 

It’s been half a year, and Brooks still has trouble not swearing in sign. “It’s not my fault!” Pandeth laughs like the little shit that he is. 

“Fair enough. It’s Pandeth’s.” Pandeth, who missed the words because he was too busy laughing, continues to laugh. Brooks nudges Red in the ribs, smiling.

Oh.

Huh.

That’s a new feeling in Red’s chest.  
///  
Pandeth is laughing his goddamn ass off. “Really? _Really?”_ Red smacks his shoulder and ducks their head. 

Pandeth snorts. “Brooks has had a thing for you since day one, Crimson.” 

Red blinks. “No.” 

Pandeth nods. “Yeah.”   
///  
“Pandeth says you have feelings for me.” Brooks freezes. It’s been a year, and Red can read her like a book. 

“Pandeth is a shit and a liar.” 

Red places a hand on Brooks’s shoulder. “But not about this.” 

She keeps cutting the carrots. “No. Not about this.” 

Red laughs. Brooks turns away. Red cups her face and makes her look them in the eye. “Can I kiss you?” 

“No! You cannot! We eat in that kitchen, you horndogs!”

“Shut up, Pandeth!”  
///  
The relationship doesn’t change much between them. Now, Red will occasionally press a kiss to Brooks’s cheek, and Pandeth will make gagging noises, and then Brooks will usually start making out with her partner just to spite him. Now, Brooks calls Red ‘babe’ and ‘hon’ instead of ‘dude’ and ‘bro’. Well. Maybe not _instead of,_ but alongside. Now, Red is allowed to put an arm around their girlfriend whenever they’re watching movies without Pandeth immediately saying, “At least buy her dinner first.” 

It’s good.

They’re good.  
///  
“Red?” Red hums in response. “Is it bad that I kind of have a thing for Pandeth?” 

Red shrugs. “Are you planning on leaving me for him?” Brooks shakes her head in Red’s lap. 

“Of course not! No, I love you. A lot. Like, a lot a lot. I have for three years, I just-” She leans down and kisses her. It never works as well in real life, shutting someone up with a kiss. It’s always a little too messy, but Brooks gets it and because she knows she can keep talking if this is really important, she kisses Red back. Red pulls away and cards a hand through her girlfriend’s hair. 

“It’s okay. It’s perfectly okay.” 

Brooks hums and closes her eyes. “Okay. I love you.” 

Red signs, “I love you.” and holds it against her stomach, so she doesn’t have to open her eyes.  
///  
Pandeth is actually pretty cute, Red realises after that conversation. 

When he makes a bad joke, which is often, the shit-eating grin that comes across his face lights up his features and makes a dimple appear and Red isn’t breathless, but she feels a bit light-headed. 

It takes about two months for Red to realise they also have a thing for Pandeth.

“Brooks?” 

She blinks up at her partner. “Yeah?” 

They smile awkwardly. “Is it bad that I have kind of a thing for Pandeth?” 

Brooks laughs and pulls them down for a kiss. _Not even a little bit,_ says the kiss, _not even a little bit._  
///  
Pandeth is entirely ignorant of this conversation and acts about the same as he always does. 

Brooks touches him a bit more, and Red stops glaring whenever he makes awful puns.

Pandeth stops making awful puns and starts making excuses.

He moves out of the apartment, he almost moves out of the city.

“Pandeth.” 

“Look, you two are happy together! Hell, you’ll probably end up getting married before the year’s out. I don’t wanna wreck that.” It’s been four years, and Pandeth is still awful at social cues. 

Red shakes his head and signs, “Next year. I don’t like the number four.” 

Pandeth snorts. “Tell Brooks that, I’m pretty damn sure she’s hiding an engagement ring somewhere.” 

Red swats his friend’s shoulder. It’s familiar, and it’s safe, and Red asks, “You have feelings for Brooks, don’t you?” 

Pandeth laughs. He doesn’t sound happy. “And you.” 

Red smiles. “I like you back, dumbass.”

They’re happy. They’re _so_ happy.  
///  
“Do you have anything that you’d like to say to your significant others, before your fifteen minutes of fame are up?” jokes the interviewer. 

Red grins.“Yeah, actually. Pandeth? I’m so glad you made me look up from my stupid sandwich.”


End file.
